Figure four dead fall trap.
I have not been around for a while and i must apologize as i have been moving into my new home, anyway back to the bushcraft.
The figure four dead-fall trap.
I have been making traps for as long as i can remember i have had loads of fun making them but one that always draws a crowd and attracts the attention of the group I'm with is the figure four dead-fall it is a brilliant trap to make relying on reasonable carving and a willingness "to get it if it drives you mad !!!" this trap falls into one of the following four styles Mangle, Strangle, Dangle and Tangle. using these words you can guess that this trap falls into the mangle section as it is a trap the kills by crushing. The trap should be placed in a spot where your intended quarry has been feeding and baited with a food item or item of interest such as some offal for carnivore's or fruits for herbivore's it is possible to catch birds with this trap also.
To make this trap you need three strong sticks i have used live hazel here but any strong sticks will do the vertical stick is to be stuck into the ground and carved with a square section in it and the horizontal stick must have a notch with square sides carves into it these join up to create the lock of this traps trigger mechanism the diagonal stick needs to be strong as this takes most of the weight and carved carefully to allow the weight of your weight n this case an old log to be suspended and the end of the horizontal stick ts the trigger knock this and crunch the log falls this trap will take some practice and patience to get right but once you have success it is like riding a bike you never forget and only get better.
I recommend attempting a small version of this trap first as it can cause injury with falling logs ever present.
Never leave your traps unattended and this trap is, in the UK also illegal...
trapping for food is not to be taken lightly and is a serious pastime please use common sense and don't trap anything you do not need and are not going to eat... trap for the plate only!!!!!!!
